Babysitter pleads not guilty to killing toddler

Wednesday

Dec 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 31, 2008 at 8:56 PM

The Springfield woman accused of killing an 18-month-old boy she was babysitting had searched her computer for terms including “head trauma” and “brain bleeding” after the child was taken to the hospital on Dec. 9, a Springfield police detective said.

Chris Dettro

The Springfield woman accused of killing an 18-month-old boy she was babysitting had searched her computer for terms including “head trauma” and “brain bleeding” after the child was taken to the hospital on Dec. 9, a Springfield police detective said.

Jennifer Bernal, 32, pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing in Sangamon County Circuit Court.

She is accused of fracturing the skull of Anthony Romanotto, who she was babysitting in her home, on Dec. 9. The boy died of blunt force head trauma at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria on Dec. 10.

Springfield police detective Mark Pointer testified that a search of Bernal’s computer showed the searches began about 3 p.m. on Dec. 9. Bernal called 911 at about 1:30 p.m. after first calling the boy’s mother.

Prosecutors also said that Bernal, if convicted of first-degree murder, will face 20 to 60 years in prison, not natural life as had been presented at an earlier hearing. The law requiring a natural life sentence for first-degree murder of a child was overturned by the state supreme court and was never re-enacted by the legislature.

Bernal’s trial was tentatively scheduled for February and the case assigned to Circuit Judge Pete Cavanagh, who presided over the hearing today.